A Mad Venture
by RiddledNightmare
Summary: This story, told by the March Hare, tells of how the March Hare, the Mad Hatter, and the Dormouse met and they're adventures in wonderland. Based on the book by Lewis Carroll
1. A Little Shop in a Valley

Disclaimer: The characters in the story belong to Lewis Carroll. I do not own any of them.

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From the very beginning, I've been alone. As a hare, I was left by my mother not long after I was born and as a hare born in March, I was well avoided by everyone. I only knew of one person who tolerated me in this time, my good friend William Rabbit. He and I always played games like "Please go away" and "Stop following me before I kick you". I was never very good at those games but each time I got a kick in the teeth I couldn't help but be thankful for having such a wonderful friend. All good things must come to an end, however. Will left to train as a trumpeter for the queen and I was left alone again.

A few days after Will left, I found myself resting in an old barn. As I was about to doze off, I smelled the strong smell of smoke. I climbed from the rafters, through a hole in the roof in order to see where the smoke was coming from. I looked out over the hill and saw a small village in the valley, burnt to nothing by a fire. Out of curiosity, I went down to the village. As I hopped through the entry arch, I spotted a shop with burnt letters labeling it "Folly's Felt Hats". I can't really say what compelled me to walk through the doors of that shop. Maybe it was because of the brilliant advertisement outside or maybe it was because of the soft sound of crying that I heard from behind the door. Either way, I opened the door and saw a young lad, about a year younger than me, hiding behind the counter. I slowly crept down to where he was crouched and put a paw on his shoulder.

"Why are you crying?" I asked.

The boy looked up at me, tears fresh in his eyes. "My mum and dad have gone and I don't think that they'll come back".

"Where have they gone?" I replied. He didn't answer, but by the look in his eyes I realized where they had gone.

"What's your name?"

"My name is Martin Folly" he said.

"Well Martin, would you like to be my friend?"

He looked up at me as if shocked by the notion. "You want to be MY friend?"I nodded vigorously, ears flopping about.

"I-I've never had a friend before."

"Well, you've got one now."

He grinned up at me, his teeth protruding out of his mouth. "So, what is my first and only friend's name?" he asked.

"My name is Marcus Hare."


	2. The Tea-rific Invitation

After our introduction, Martin and I sat in the decrepit shop and conversed. We spoke of our similar interest in words beginning with the letter "M" and our equal fondness of tea. Soon it grew dark and I decided to head to my temporary home for the night. I said my goodbyes and made my way to the door. Before I could turn the handle, Martin grabbed my arm.

"Can I come with you?" he asked in a scared tone.

"Why would you want to leave? Your house is so lovely." I gestured toward the burnt tapestries and furniture.

"My house is nearly in ruins and besides that, I'm all alone." He looked perplexed by my previous statement.

'Just like me' I thought. I made my mind right then that neither of us would ever be alone again.

"Not anymore." I said and helped Martin pack up everything that wasn't burned into suitcases, including a total of 106 hats. Together we walked out of the store, a suitcase in each of our hands and walked to the barn.

"This has been the most awfully wonderful day of my life!" I exclaimed.

"….What?" Martin looked at me bewildered.

"You know for someone who was raised by hatters, you're not very good at understanding mad ramblings." He seemed to have understood that, however.

"I will be able to soon, though." he said, grinning.

"I have decided to follow in my parents footsteps and become a hatter!" My face broke out in a wide grin.

"Can I be a hatter too? Can I? Please!" Martin looked startled by my request.

"No! The last thing that you need to be doing is handling mercury." Disappointment crossed my features before flickering back to joy.

Martin took a table from inside the barn, set it outside, and began placing hats on top of it. "I guess this will have to do for now" he said.

We sat outside for hours, waiting for someone to come up to Martin's make-shift hat shop. Many animals and men passed, as if heading to an event, but none stopped.

Suddenly I heard a loud and awful sound of a trumpet. I looked up and saw my old friend William. Without looking up, Will took out a scroll and began to read it aloud.

"You are cordially invited to the royal coronation of the new queen. If you refuse this invitation, you will be executed. The queen sends her regards and looks forward to your presence and presents, which you are required to bring." Will looked up then and started.

"Aahh! You know what? I just remembered that you're NOT invited. Good day."

Despite the fact that Will left in such a hurry and jokingly told me that I wasn't invited, I was ecstatic. "Martin, did you hear that? We're invited to the queens' coronation!"

We put on our best suits, which were tattered, burnt, or covered in hay and Martin put on the best hat he had. The hat was too big for him, though, and constantly tipped into his face.

"So, where exactly is the queens' castle?"


	3. A Dormant Gift

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.**

 **Also I will start making chapters longer, so it may take a while to add more chapters. 3 Thanks for reading - _RiddledNightmare_**

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Not knowing which way to go, we walked into the woods. We walked straight forward 'til we reached the edge of the woods and stood in front of the queen's castle. The castle was surrounded by a large garden filled with rose bushes and was a playground to three young cards. After walking past them, two card guards met us at the doors and held them open for us. I turned to look at Martin with a big grin on my face. The grin faded when I saw his anxious face. "Marcus, are you certain that you want to go in there? What if….what if no one wants us there?"

"Well, the way I see it if they don't like you then their opinions don't matter"

"You're right. Alright, let's go." And so we walked through the open doors.

The main hall was filled with men and animals of all kinds. Regardless of the diversity, we stood out quite a bit. Everyone stared at us either because of the hay in my fur and Martin's large hat or because of how well dressed we were. I figured it was the latter.

Suddenly, their eyes left us and were directed to the grand staircase. A priest and a young girl were perched at the top of the staircase. The young girl wore a crimson dress and had black hair pulled up into pigtails. She smiled at her guests as the priest placed the crown on her head. "I now present to you, Queen Rosaline Ruth Reina II!" announced the priest.

The crowd burst into cheers as the queen descended the staircase and was replaced by the Knave of Hearts. "Now 'tis time to bestow your gifts to your queen!" shouted the Knave.

"Oh no! We didn't bring any gifts! What are we going to do?!" said Martin, panicked.

Just then the queen pointed at us and glared. "Where are your gifts peasants? Did you bring nothing for your queen?" Her face turned the color of her dress and her fists clenched.

"Well you see…" Before Martin could lead us to our doom I interjected. "My comrade and I shall sing a song in your honor!" Martin looked at me, terrified. "I'm going to play the guitar while you sing. Just improvise" I whispered.

"A song? I suppose that will do" said the queen.

I stole a guitar from the royal band while Martin stood with his mouth agape. Breaking out of his trance, Martin cleared his throat and began to sing.

"Twinkle, twinkle, little bat

How I wonder what you're at

Up above the world you fly like a tea tray in the sky…"

"Twinkle, twinkle, twinkle, twinkle" said a small voice. No one else seemed to have heard it but me so I figured that it was just the voice in my head. Then the voice started to snore. "Inner voices must get tired to" I thought.

After Martin finished singing, the queen erupted like a volcano. "That was THE worst performance that I have ever seen! Guards, off with his…" She trailed off as she looked toward my shoulder. "R-rat! There's a rat on his shoulder! Someone kill it!"

I looked down at my shoulder and saw a mouse. At the sound of the queens yelling, the mouse awoke. "*Yawn* 'Ello! What's everyone looking at?" he asked then shut his eyes again.

"Hare, dispose of that rat!" the queen ordered. The mouse was startled awake once more and, after seeing the angry face of the towering eight-year old, dove into the collar of my suit.

"P-please don't! I just wanted to listen to your friend's song! I couldn't see so I climbed onto your shoulder!" he squeaked.

Before I could respond, Martin grabbed the mouse from inside my collar and stuffed it into a teapot from a nearby table. "Don't worry,my little friend. I won't let anything happen to you" he said and ran with the teapot in his hands.

Guards rushed toward Martin, who ran toward the door with the teapot in his arms. I quickly followed him and threw a lizard to the floor, who tripped the approaching guards.

"Sorry Bill!" I shouted behind me to the lizard.

Underneath the stack of guards, Bill gave a thumbs up and shouted back "It's okay this kind of thing happens all the time!".

Martin and I continued to run until we made it through the woods and to Melancholy Bay, a beach east of the woods.

Sitting down on the sand, Martin dumped the dormant rodent onto a rock. "Asleep again?" he asked.

The mouse snorted before waking up. "*Yawn* Thank you..*Yawn*..for saving me"

"It was nothing. Now, what is your name?"

"My name is Damian Dormouse"

"A dormouse? Well Marcus, it looks like this duo has become a trio. A mad party of tea-loving misfits"

'Hmm. A Mad Tea Party. I like the sound of that' I thought.


	4. Different

**Disclaimer: I do not own Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.**

 **Thank you so much for reading my story 3**

 ** _\- RiddledNightmare_**

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The three of us sat upon the sand, enjoying our brief victory. The victory grew sour as I began to grow bored.

"Martin, I'm bored, can't we do something besides sit in the sand?"

"I can't really think of anything to do seeing as we have no idea how to get back to the barn." Martin replied.

Before I decided to rave like the lunatic I was, Damian whispered in his quiet voice a solution to our plight. "W-well I-I guess I could tell you all a story."

"That is a brilliant idea Damian! I do love a good story." Martin said.

"Once upon a time, there were three little sisters-" Damian started before being interrupted by loud and piercing sounds of crying.

From beside us a group of lobsters groaned and spit out words of agitation. "There goes Monty with that crying nonsense again" one lobster said. The crying grew louder and louder as Martin rose and walked towards the source, a turtle, or rather what looked like a turtle. Damian and I followed hastily behind him. "Hello there, may I ask why it is that you are crying?" Martin asked.

Monty looked up at us with somber eyes. "That is an interesting question, one that I ask myself very often. I ask many questions that start with 'Why'. Why do the other turtles from my school laugh at me? Why do I not have any friends? Why I am so….different?" Monty's voice broke off into a sob at the last word.

Voices from behind Monty shouted slurs and insults, a group of turtles from his school. "You're not even a turtle like us. You're just pretending to be one!" said one turtle. "Yeah, a mock turtle!" said another.

"Hey, who needs to be a turtle anyway? If you're a mock turtle, then just be the best mock turtle anyone has ever seen!" I said.

"How can I be the best, if I feel like the worst?" he replied and started crying anew.

Martin, Damian, and I shared a collective glance; all of us realized that we were in way over our heads, but we had lost our common sense a long time ago.

"Monty, what if we could find someone different like you? You wouldn't feel so different if you weren't alone" Martin said.

"Different like me? I appreciate your concern but I don't think that's possible. Besides, no one would or could ever want to be my friend."

"Not with that attitude they won't. Don't worry, we will find someone to turn that frown upside down!" I said.

With that, the three of us set off to find a friend for the bag-of-tears that was Monty. At the far corner of the beach was a cliff, which caught my eye. "Maybe if we climbed that cliff, we could see if there are any strange creatures from the top of it!" I announced.

"Wonderful observation, my friend! Here, stand on my shoulders and I'll give you and Damian a boost."

I did as he said but, as he was awful short, I didn't make it far enough to the cliff's edge to pull myself up. I noticed a brown vine hanging from the cliff, grabbed it and pulled it. The vine slipped from my fingers as I hear, from above, a screech that sounded like wounded bird. Suddenly, a griffon flew from the cliff and hovered beside us.

"Hey! Why did you go and yank my tail like that for? I was trying to sleep!" he yelled.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you. I was just trying to get on top of this cliff" I responded.

"It's fine. I'm sorry I yelled at you like that. I guess it's just the lion in me, y'know."

"Say, do you know of many oddities in wonderland, like creatures that are made up of different creatures?"

"No, not unless you count knowing yourself. Here, get on my back and I'll fly you all up"

We did just that and found a comfy pile of rocks to rest on. Beside the rocks was a stack of books and a pair of reading glasses. Martin grinned like Cheshire cat, for what reason I had no idea. I looked out across the vast array of forests and fields and saw…nothing like Monty anywhere. 'We failed' I thought until I turned and saw what Martin was grinning so widely about, the griffon, an oddity and seemingly all alone.

"Do you have any friends?" I asked the griffon.

"No, why?" he said hopefully.

"I know someone who could use a friend" I pointed down at Monty, still sitting dejectedly on his rock.

Without another word, the griffon flew from the cliff and landed beside Monty.

"Hello there, my name is Antony" said the griffon.

Monty looked up with wide eyes. "I'm Monty"

"Well then, Monty, you've got yourself a friend"

"I-I do!? Really!? You want to be my friend!? I didn't even know that there was anyone else like me in wonderland"

"Neither did I and if it weren't for those three fellows up there I still wouldn't" Antony pointed at us atop the cliff.

"So, what is it that friends do exactly?" asked Monty.

"Well that depends on what it is you like to do"

At this Monty's face lit up and a grin spread across his teary cheeks. "Antony, have you ever heard of the Lobster Quadrille?

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 **I really enjoyed writing this chapter. It was partly inspired by my childhood and how 'different' I felt. I chose to include the Mock-Turtle to reach out to those who are and/or have gone through a similar thing. If you are someone like that then I give you my biggest virtual hug because I know what that's like. Be tough and remember that you're not alone. 3**


	5. Stutter

**Disclaimer: I do not own Alice's Adventures in Wonderland**

 **Thank you for reading this far :) I love writing these chapters and I try to update as soon as I can. Thank you again and happy reading!**

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Monty and Antony danced to a half pessimistic/half optimistic tune, which befitted their friendship quite nicely. Martin, Damian, and I still stood upon the cliff gazing down with gladness at them. When the dance ended, Antony remembered our flightlessness and flew over to help us down from the cliff.

"Thank you so much, all of you! What ever can I do to repay you?"

"No payment is necessary, however we do require directions back to our home if you are able to help" said Martin.

"I most certainly can! What is the address?"

"We live in a barn with no number but I do believe that it is on Treacle Dr."

"What a coincidence! That road is adjacent to the road leading to the library! I love the library and go there very often. I can take you there on my back"

We climbed back onto Antony's back and set off to the library. Once there, we said our goodbye's to our fur and feathered friend.

"Good luck to you and thank you again" he said before flying off.

The library was small and quaint. In front of the building was a 'for sale' sign and piles of books stacked upon the grass. Martin looked up at it with admiration.

"What a lovely place! Can you imagine owning a place like this?" he said.

"Being as mad as I am, Martin, yes I can" I replied.

Noise erupted from inside, intelligible shrieks and squawks. The door sprung open and from it appeared a small dodo bird.

"H-hello m-my n-name is Charles. I-I am v-very sorry b-but m-my parents aren't h-here right now" said the dodo.

"That's okay we were just on our way to the barn adjacent from here. Speaking of which, what does "adjacent" mean?" I said.

Charles looked at me in shock then ran back into the library only to return with a book labeled "Mathematical Terminology". He handed to book over to me expectantly.

"P-page 964" was all he said as I took the book from his hands and flipped through the pages.

"I can't read it. It's all gibberish!"

Without looking at the text, Charles proceeded to recite the definition. "Adjacent: next to or adjoining something else"

I dropped the book in my hands in awe and confusion. Charles must have noticed my confusion, for the confidence left his face and his stammer returned.

"I-I'm rather f-fond of m-mathematics" he stated shyly.

"Are you fond of photography as well?" asked Martin who had noticed a camera hanging from around his neck.

"O-oh w-well yes I-I am. I-I don't r-really have the m-money for f-film though"

"What if I were to buy this old building of yours?"

"Then I-I might h-have the f-funds to n-not only b-buy film b-but to live m-my dream of b-becoming a w-writer!"

Martin signed a few papers and handed the money over to Charles, who looked ecstatic.

"Well, well what have we here? Three mad-men and the broken record himself" said a voice behind us.

A shadow loomed amongst the trees before stepping into the light. A bird with red eyes and matted white and red feathers towered above us. Within his beak were rows of razor sharp teeth. He walked toward us with a sinister grin.

"Did you finish my math homework?" he asked Charles, who slowly backed toward to door.

"Y-yes, it's r-right inside. I'll g-go get it" Charles answered before running inside and dashing up the stairs. When he came back, he held a stack of papers. Each paper with one name written on it.

"H-here you g-go, Jonathan. S-sorry it t-took so long"

"Say Charles old pal, do you mind if take one of those books?" Jonathan asked, pointing to a stack of psychology books.

"S-sure"

Jonathan walked over to the books and grabbed a book of fears and phobias. "Thanks. Some friends of mine once told me that in order to be powerful, you must be either feared or loved and in my case well...lets just say I'm not the most likeable bird around"

A loud roar erupted from the woods, followed by low ominous growls. "Ah. There they are now. See you never, broken record!"

"S-sorry about t-that" said Charles after Jonathan had left.

"It's quite alright. We're accustomed to crazy" I responded

"D-do you k-know of anyone w-who would l-like the rest of these b-books?"

"As a matter of fact, we know of a griffon by the name of Antony who thoroughly enjoys books" Martin said

"B-brilliant! I-I'll ask m-my friend Bill to s-send them h-his way"

We all worked together and packaged the gifts. Afterward, Charles left for home, leaving Martin, Damian, and I to take care of Martin's new property. Luckily for us after delivering the books to Antony, Bill was nice enough to stop by the barn and gather up all of Martin's hats to bring to us.

"Here you go! 106 felt hats fit for a hatter!" said Bill with a smile.

Using old book stands, we were able to display hats in the windows and inside the shop. Me and Damian designed a sign labeled "The Mad Hatter's Marvelous Hats" and hung it above the door. Martin was so proud of what we accomplished, that he started crying out of happiness.

"It's just like my old home" he said between tears. "But with you all here, it's somehow even better"


End file.
